1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a filing rack for computer diskettes. More particularly, the invention relates to a filing rack which holds diskettes in upright positions or alternative resting positions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the dramatic increase in personal computers in the home and workplace, there exists a need to store and/or transport magnetic recording media, such as computer disks or diskettes, in an economical and convenient manner. The safety and integrity of such media is of utmost importance, and shielding such media from airborne dust particles is also of great concern. In addition, it is highly desirable that such storage means occupy a minimal amount of space both for convenience at the workstation as well as during transport. While these functions are generally provided by a manufacturer's shipping case, there is an additional need to have a convenient means of viewing any user applied labels on the face of individual diskettes which provide information about the recorded contents of such diskettes. Also, easy withdrawal or replacement of a selected diskette from within a group of diskettes is a desirable quality in a storage container.
Storage containers for a plurality of data-bearing cards or disks are known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,309 to Staats, discloses a document storage and access case for a plurality of groups of documents (for example, microfiche cards or aperture cards) which includes a housing having a plurality of inclined ramps and associated document supports. The ramps are formed as an integral part of the housing or as an insert. Each group of documents rests on a ramp. The group members may be individually gripped and tilted to a forwardly leaning and relatively stable position for providing access to remaining documents of the group. Ledges are additionally provided for supporting selected documents at a changed orientation to identify selected locations within a group of documents.
Staats further discloses document supports. The document supports are generally planar, substantially rigid members with portions projecting into recesses positioned between risers and ramps. Each of the recesses extends across only a portion of the width of the ramp. The document support may be tilted to a forward or rearward leaning position by moving over center. Staats' storage and access case is not optimal for use with computer diskettes because the nearly vertical position of the stored material results in an excessively bulky container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,548 to Posso discloses a drawer-like storage unit for audio cassette cases wherein the drawer unit includes separator partitions fastened to the bottom and side walls and inclined downwardly to the rear and upwardly to the front, in order to define compartments in which the cases may be stored in inclined positions. The partitions are inclined by 20.degree. to 30.degree. with respect to vertical. This arrangement is not optimal for computer diskettes, since diskettes are too thin to allow an adequate edge surface for indicia. Further, this arrangement does not expose an adequate surface area of the major face of the diskette to display sufficient information regarding the contents of the diskette.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,809 to Haswell discloses a tape cassette storage container including a rigid backing frame member and a series of successive adjacent storage compartments or pockets for individual tape cassettes in which the cassettes are stored generally edge-to-edge. In this edge-to-edge storage design, the cassettes lie generally parallel or at a slight inclination to the plane of the backing frame member. While the Haswell edge-to-edge arrangement does allow for viewing of indicia applied to a major face of stored cassettes, such a configuration is not optimal for storage of 31/2 or 51/4 inch computer diskettes in that edge-to-edge spacing is excessively lengthy.
Additionally, blow-molded, dust tight double wall storage cases for individual video cassettes are known. Representative examples include: U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,896 which discloses a recessed hook for hanging boxes from a horizontal support member, U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,178 which discloses a double acting latch, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,337 which discloses a hinge structure.